Jesse Pinkman: Ten Years Later
by neve-grey
Summary: It took him a while, but he got himself to Australia. He set up a new life - started a family, even. For the past ten years he'd done everything to avoid the media. It had been easy in his tiny house by the ocean, so far away from everything he used to know. But the pull of the 10 year anniversary since Walt's death was powerful...


He'd become good at not thinking about the past. It was easy when there were plenty of things to do; pick up Andie from day care. File the inventory for the shop. Get groceries. In fact, ever since Andie was born, Jesse was preoccupied enough that for most days he could get by without so much of a flicker of a memory.

He was good at not letting curiosity get the better of him. It was essential not to. If ever there was a documentary on television (of which at least six had been made since Walt's demise), he'd turn it off. Two years ago he'd actually thrown the television away. The act hadn't pleased his wife.

"We don't need a T.V," Jesse had said, rattling a plastic ball in front of Andie's face. She loved that toy more than any other, and Jesse reveled in the pure joy that the chubby baby got from something so simple.

Jesse refused to get newspapers delivered to the house. Even now, after almost ten years, the mere sight of one made his heart rate spike. He had been featured on the front page for weeks after… well, after Walt died.

Whenever he could feel himself succumbing to the memories, he'd do what always calmed him down: stare out at the ocean and watch the waves. It was calming, it was constant – and the complete opposite to desert.

It had taken a couple of years but he'd managed to get to Australia. Walt's money – _hi_s money – had given him choices and protection.

He'd chosen a small house just north of Queensland. It was close to a little town that had all the essentials. There he learned to surf, take care of himself properly, and started to go by the name 'Jasper'. He'd had most of his tattoos removed. He'd grown his hair out, and for the next couple of years barely said a word to anybody.

It wasn't until he me Lana that he felt like talking.

Now, his past felt like some kind of strange dream. A film, perhaps, that he'd seen once. Hardly his own life.

Jesse watched as Lana bobbed Andie up and down on her knee, pointing out at the ocean. It was almost her second birthday. And while he was beyond proud and excited for his little girl, the dread in his stomach that always built up around that time of year wouldn't quell.

Andie had been born on the anniversary of Walt's death. It was too symbolic, too… hauntingly familiar. No matter what he did, or where he was, Jesse couldn't escape the man that had ruined his life all those years ago.

But had he? Had he, _really_? That was the question that made Jesse wretch into the bathroom sink some nights. While his surf shop – his modest and honest surf shop – made a small income, there was no way he could have made his way to Australia without Walt's money.

He never would have met Lana and he never would have had Andie. The chain of events plagued him on those significant days.

After Andie's birthday party (which was really just an opportunity for Lana to invite her friends around and dote on their baby), Jesse climbed into bed beside his wife. They'd been married for three years and still he couldn't believe his luck. He was thankful for her every day and made sure she knew it.

Lana fell asleep almost straight away. She was exhausted from party planning and entertaining the guests. Jesse found himself staring at the ceiling.

_Don't_, he thought to himself. _Just don't._

But it was overwhelming.

He pulled out Lana's laptop and plugged in the headphones, almost against the will of his body. It didn't take him long to find a live stream of the live five o'clock news in the States.

Perhaps everyone had forgotten? Perhaps everyone was over the story that had gripped the entire country? _Schoolteacher and student turned meth-cooks_. Sure had a ring to it.

Jesse's stomach jolted with such a force he almost threw up. The first image he saw was of Skyler White, Marie Schrader and - he was almost completely sure he was right – Holly. She must have been around eleven years old.

Jesse gazed at the screen.

It was most certainly not a dream. Jesse Pinkman was definitely not a character he had imagined.

"Kevin, I'm here for an exclusive interview with family of the world's most notorious drug kingpin - Skyler and Holly George (she'd obviously remarried), and Marie Schrader. Join us soon for the live coverage."

The news anchor then launched into the featured story – the 'Ten Years Later' – and watched as images of Walter's face, his _own_ face, flashed across the screen.


End file.
